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Publisher: New Society Publishers
Pub. Date: 2014-05-01
ISBN: 9780865717664
Format: Paperback - 480 pages
Size: 7.25" x 9" (w x h)
BISAC: GARDENING / Reference

Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and other Woodland Medicinals

2nd Edition

Not all saleable crops are dependent on access to greenhouses or sun-drenched, arable land. Shade-loving medicinal herbs can be successfully cultivated in a forest garden for personal use or as small-scale cash crops. Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and other Woodland Medicinals is a complete guide to these increasingly popular botanicals, aimed at aspiring and experienced growers alike.

In this fully revised and updated edition, authors Jeanine Davis and W. Scott Persons show how more than a dozen sought-after native species can generate a greater profit on a rugged, otherwise idle, woodlot than just about any other legal crop on an equal area of cleared land. With little capital investment but plenty of sweat equity, patience and common sense, small landowners can preserve and enhance their treed space while simultaneously earning supplemental income. Learn how to establish, grow, harvest and market:

  • Popular medicinal roots such as ginseng, goldenseal and black cohosh
  • Other commonly used botanicals including bloodroot, false unicorn and mayapple
  • The nutritious wild food, ramps, and the valuable ornamental, galax.

Packed with budget information, extensive references, and personal stories of successful growers, this invaluable resource will excite and inspire everyone from the home gardener to the full-time farmer.

About the Authors

Jeanine Davis, is an associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science with NC State University. For over 25 years, she has focused on helping farmers increase their profitability by diversifying into new crops and organic agriculture. Jeanine is passionate about medicinal herbs and is in demand as a conference speaker and workshop leader in North Carolina and beyond. She also maintains several websites (ncherb.org, ncorganic.org, and ncspecialtycrops.org), aimed at supporting small- to medium-scale commercial growers.

W. Scott Persons, is the author of American Ginseng: Green Gold and is widely recognized as an expert in the growing and marketing of wild-simulated and woods-cultivated ginseng. For over 30 years, his Tuckasegee Valley Ginseng Farm has supplied planting stock and consultative assistance to ginseng farmers across North America. Dr. Persons presents extensively on woodland ginseng production and has helped establish operations in countries all over the world including New Zealand and Argentina.


"This book is the complete resource for ginseng. I recommend this book to our members and visitors who are interested in learning and growing their own green gold. Thank you for bringing so much helpful and useful information."
Michael S. Lee, President of WildGrown.com

"The definitive guide to growing our shade-loving native medicinal plants for fun and profit. As an ecologist and conservation biologist, I particularly appreciate the fact that woodlot owners can help take some pressure off wild populations through careful cultivation of medicinals on appropriate plots in their forested landscape. By passing on lessons from their vast hard-won experience in this enterprise, Davis and Persons have done a great service."
James B. McGraw, Eberly Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, West Virginia University

"My office is like a shell midden, with the oldest and most decomposed material at the bottom, and more recent and vital material located somewhere near the surface. I am delighted to report that my copy of Davis and Persons' book has always stayed right at the top! Upgrades to the information found in this book will help maintain this tradition of growing valuable plants close to home, and I believe the plants will join me in thanking the authors for a job well done. May we all go out to the woodlands, drop to our knees in the cool, soft earth, and cultivate, for the love of life, a rare plant."
Richo Cech, herbal author and gardener at Horizon Herbs, LLC in Williams, Oregon.

"The recent popular interest in wild American ginseng spurred by high prices in Asian markets means that now more than ever it's important to create cultivated woods-simulated supplies of American ginseng and other woodland medicinal plants. Scott Persons and Jeannine Davis have combined decades of experience and expertise to create the most significant, must-have reference on growing ginseng, goldenseal, and other woodland medicinal plants. Anyone interested in understanding any aspect of wild American ginseng, it's biology, history, economics, and the practical details of production needs this book."
Steven Foster, Senior author, Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants.

"Important revised work on how we can encourage conservation through cultivation of two medicinal and economically important plants that have been on United Plant Savers At-Risk list since UpS created this list."
Susan Leopold, Executive Director of United Plant Savers.

"This work is a plant lover's treasure. What Jeanine and Scott have accomplished with this book will be revealed for years to come, as the layers of wisdom and knowledge are deep. Scientists, herbalists, growers, conservationists, native plant enthusiasts, 'plantophiles' in general will thrill at the research and clear, user–friendly information that is in these pages. You can easily tell that these authors have made this a life long passion and profession."
Kathleen Maier, RH (AHG), Sacred Plant Traditions, LLC

"This book is required reading for anyone interested in growing ginseng and other woodland botanicals in a shady site. Persons and Davis have captured the wisdom of a generation of ginseng growers in this comprehensive book, now updated to include practical information for home gardeners who want to enrich a patch of woods with native medicinal plants."
Barbara Pleasant, award-winning garden writer and contributing editor to Mother Earth News

"The first edition of this book became an instant classic in the fields of medicinal plant horticulture, sustainable agriculture, and agroforestry. With this latest edition, Scott and Jeanine have remarkably managed to expand, improve and update this classic so that it is now even more useful and full of up-to-date information. Their combined knowledge, experience and wisdom is abundant throughout this book. I heartily recommended this updated edition to anyone interested in native woodland plants and their culture."
Eric P. Burkhart, PhD., Program Director, Plant Science, Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, The Pennsylvania State University

"Scott Persons and Jeanine Davis have written the only accurate and comprehensive grower's guide to woodland cultivation of American Ginseng and other forest medicinal and culinary herbs. This new revision of their original book is a significant improvement over the first edition, with updated and expanded information. In addition to being full of practical "how to" data, based on both University peer reviewed research, as well as first-hand knowledge and experience, it is a delightful and easy to read textbook. I consider this book as truly a "must read" for anyone who is seriously interested in pursuing this form of Agroforestry."
Bob Beyfuss, American Ginseng Specialist, Cornell University Cooperative Extension (retired)

"This unique book is a comprehensive guide on the history, production and marketing of medicinal plants native to the forests of eastern North America. Practical experiences are included from both an American and Canadian perspective. It is a valuable, easy to read resource for both the beginner and experienced grower."
Dr. Sean Westerveld, Ginseng and Medicinal Herbs Specialist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Rural Affairs


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